I've been wondering if it would look strange if I didn't include both "pairs" of this idiom, e.g.:

In recent times a significant increase of popularity of teaching
English as a foreign language in kindergartens is observed. However,
it may be surrounded by many doubts, the main reasons being the great
demand for this type of activities from parents, and at the same time
the lack of specific, clear guidelines governing the teaching of
English, which could be of help to those responsible for introduction
of such classes into kindergartens.

I know it's possible (and indeed used) the other way around but I am not sure in this case.

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4

Sorry @JStrange, I was going to try a rewrite of your sentence but I am not clear on its meaning either. I seem to see a place for "on the other hand", where you say "at the same time" - but did not feel confident enough in my understanding of your intent to do the rewrite.
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Kristina LopezNov 29 '12 at 18:05

1

@KristinaLopez +1 I think you understood the intention correctly. "At the same time" should be replaced with "on the other hand". But the sentence following the idiom (or the whole passage) needs work.
–
ChrisNov 29 '12 at 18:54

1

The Brony (My Little Pony) fandom goes in the opposite direction with that, with a fondness for quadruple comparisons. "...And on the fourth hoof..."
–
SF.Nov 29 '12 at 18:55

1 Answer
1

There’s no point at all in writing on the one hand if you aren’t going to balance it with on the other hand. You might just as well leave it out. Quite apart from that, the sentence is not at all clear. In fact, it’s not even a sentence as commonly understood, because it lacks a finite verb in the main clause.